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Sunday, September 19, 2010

Joe Torre - Savior of Horse Racing?

Joe Torre announced this week that he will not return as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers next year. It is expected that, although being 70 years old, Torre will assume a non-managerial job with the Dodgers.

I say, WAIT! There is a free agent in the market and he should be pursued by not only other baseball teams, but other SPORTS too. When I say sports, I mean thoroughbred horse racing. We severely lack a face of the sport, and Joe Torre may be just what we need.

Torre is a horse racing fan and owner. He reportedly became a fan when New York Yankees Bench Coach Don Zimmer took him to Pimlico in 1996. He is a part-owner of Homeboykris and Game on Dude. He was a part-owner of Vineyard Haven before being sold for $12 million and also owned part of Sis City. That's a bunch of graded stakes winners from a small portfolio of ownership. I guess this game is easier when you were close with the late Bobby Frankel. The former Yankees manager is also friends with his own "Babe", Rick Dutrow.

Torre is uniquely qualified to be the center of a marketing campaign by the NTRA or any other entity that is smart enough to use him. He is respected in both New York and Southern California - both major racing jurisdictions. He is also associated with winning (it hurts writing that as a Mets fan). To make it interesting for him, I can see cross-marketing with the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation.

So, what are we waiting for? I nominate Joe Torre as the new spokesman for thoroughbred horse racing.